Bio:

This is a trope.

Amoungst human populations, approximately one person in ten thousand has a slightly altered gene in the GLiX series. Under normal circumstances this has the effect of preventing the proper application, but not the formation of, skin pigments – making it one of the various causes of albinism. However, like many genes the true mechanics of the GLiX series wasn’t revealed until the advent of very sophisticated genetic engineering, particularly as it applied to cybernetics. It turns out that these genes are part of a mechanism which generates chemical markers to allow cells to determine their location in the body. Typically the marker gene and the receptor gene are paired, such that a change to one similarly modifies the opposite and the dependent processes are unaffected. GLiX issues, as such, tend to express themselves in strange and subtle ways. Before the discovery of the albinism connection they were thought to be introns.

All of this is relevant because unlike human cells, medical nanomachines are built to work with a standard genome, so GLiX mutations are a real problem. In the best case the machines will simply fail to operate, but often they become overly aggressive – creating the cybernetic equivalent of a cancer. Administration of modern medical nanomachines to a GLiX mutant is typically either ineffective or fatal, and as such full genome mappings are required by law in most modern states before such medications can be applied.

Of course this is most states, under most circumstances. The emergence of street cybernetics has compromised the integrity of the system, as many popular cybernetic upgrades use medical nanomachines in order to interface with the host’s nervous system. These cyberneurons tend to react to GLiX mutations in a particularly aggressive manner: by cannibalizing the entire nervous system. For most would-be cyborgs this is an immediate death sentence, but in cases where mass neuron replacement was the goal there is a moderate chance of survival. Results amoung survivors are mixed: there is always a severe degree of mental disfunction, while other areas – particular neuro-muscular control – can be greatly enhanced. Unfortunately, while this is devastating to the individual there are many fringe societies who view such a result positively, so not only are GLiX mutants often found lining up for cybernetic procedures, in many cases they are subjected to such procedures against their will.

The result is that in spite of many efforts to the contrary a small segment of the population, about one person in ten million, are cyberized GLiX mutants. They are unevenly distributed, being found most often in very poor or poorly governed areas, where they are extremely disproportionately represented in violent occupations. And more are being made every day.